Game apparatus.



W. LAMMERSEN. GAME APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 0012s, 1908.

998,103. Patented J1 11y'18, 1 11.

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1 coLpMllA FMNOGRAPH CO., WASHINGTON, n. c.

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UNITED STATEEg PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM LAMMERSEN, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

GAME APPARATUS.

To all whom it may'concem:

Be it known that I, TILLIAM LAMMERSEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State ofCalifornia, have invented a new and useful Game Apparatus, of which thefollowing is a specification.

T lie-invention is of the nature of a bowling alley having automaticmeans for returning the balls with which the game is played. Said ballsmay be in the form of marbles or may be any form of balls suitable forbowling.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel game apparatus adaptedfor solitary and for competitive playing in which the skill of theplayer is tallied or rewarded by the return of winning and losing ballsin an interesting manner.

Other objects and advantages may appear from the subjoineddetaildescription.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a game apparatus constructed inaccordance with this invention. Portions are broken away to expose partsthat would otherwise be hidden from View. A number of losing balls areshown entrapped. Fig. 2 is a front elevation omitting the gang plate andupper alley plate, and showing the entrapped balls of Fig. 1 as they arebeing released by a winning ball. A part of the inclined backing isbroken to show the winning ball chute and the tripping lever. Fig. 3 isa side elevation partly in section on line Fig. 2. Some of the parts arefurther broken away for better illustration.

1 is a broad based case having a narrow top plate 2 and a rearwardlysloping open front 3 in which an upper inclined alley side and from nearthe bottom to a line somewhat below the top plate 2, thus providing anopen space which forms an inlet a to the ball passage and ball returnway hereinafter described. An apron is hinged inside the case close tothe lower edge of the upper inclined alley plate 4, and is adapted tofold over upon said alley plate 4 to form a closure for the front of thecase when the device is not in use for playing purposes. The apron 5 isadapted to be unfolded to extend downwardly away from the case at adifl'erent angle from the plate 4 to form Specification of LettersPatent.

Application filed October 26, 1908.

Patented July 18, 1911.

Serial No. 459,629.

the gang plate, or lower alley plate on which a ball may be rolledupwardly from the floor or other surface upon which the case stands,thus to direct the ball to enter the case through the inlet a. The apron5 may be made of any suitable material as sheet metal bent up at theedges to form side walls 6 to keep the balls from rolling off sidewise,and also to stiffen the apron. The lower margin 7 of the apron is bentat an angle to the main body 8 of said apron below the walls 6 so as tolie more nearly flat upon the floor or other surface, thus to re ceiveand direct the ball upwardly without bounding. The main body of theapron is also arranged to stand aslant relatively to the upper plate 4for the same purpose, and the plate 4 is sunk in the case 1 to allowside walls 9, 9, of said case to project upward to form guards toprevent the balls from rolling off sidewise.

Extending across the case underneath the upper alley plate 4 is asloping plate having an upper part 10, that extends aslant rearwardlyabove the level of the top of the alley plate 4 and a lower portionforming a backing 11 that extends aslant behind the alley plate 4. Thepart 10 forms a target at which the balls are to be directed, and has atarget port or passage-way c for balls located below the middle of thetop plate 2, and constituting the bulls-eye of the target. The portionof the rear wall 82 of the case which is behind the passage-Way 0 formsa stop adjacent to the target for the balls which may pass through thepassage-way c. The balls that enter the passage-way c are termed winningballs and those which strike the target part 10 are termed losing balls.The backing 11 is spaced apart from the alley plate 4'to form a ballreturn-way for the losing balls in front of the stop 32.

The upper plate 4 is so constructed that it may be seen through, and maybe made of any transparent structure, as a sheet of glass or wirenetting so as to allow the players to see the losing balls as they rolldown the ball return-way and become entrapped behind the plate, thus toadd interest to the game. In the drawing the Wire netting form is shownfor the reason that the same is cheaper and easier to make and is alsoless liable to break than glass. Said ball return-way is interrupted ormade zigzag by bars formed in three sections, l2, l3 and 14,

fastened aslant to the face of the backing 11; the upper section 12extending from one wall 9 aslant downwardly part way across the slantingbacking 11 and leaving an opening 15 above the intermediate section 13,which extends from the opposite wall 9 downwardly aslant across thebacking 11 nearly to the wall 2), leaving a passage 16 through which theball may pass to the lower section it that extends from the wall 5) down*ardly aslant across the backing to ward and terminating short of thewall i) to leave an outlet space 17 for paying out the missed balls 18.Said outlet space is normally closed by twill-retaining means formed bythe outlet block 19 carried by the paying lever 20 which is pivoted tothe case at 21 and i'iorrnally held in ball-retaining position bysuitable means, as a weight 22, suspended by a cord 23, from the end ofthe lever 20 opposite the block 19. Said block is adapted to norn'iallyobstruct the ball return-way. hen a ball is rolled over the upper edgeof the plate t in such a manner that it does not enter the passage (2,but strikes upon the target 10 at one or the other side of said passage,thereby becoming what is termed a losing ball, it will find its way downthe ball return-way to the block 19, by which it will be stopped inposition to intercept in turn a second losing ball, and so on; thelosing balls, successively, being thus stopped, so long as the retainingdevice 19 remains in its normal posit-ion.

24- is a tripping lever pivoted at 25 and connected by suitable means,as a cord 26 with the lever 20, so that when the upper end of the lever2 t is moved downivzurd, thereby raising the lower end of said lever,the connection 26 will pull up the lower end of the paying lever 20,thus lowering the block if) in the outlet space 1'? and allowing theballs 18 to roll down over the top of the block to a paying way 27 thatwill direct the balls through the paying port 7) in the alley plate 1onto the apron 5.

The bulls-eye c is large enough to allow the balls to pass therethroughsingly to a runway 28 which leads from the bulls-eye or target port 0 tothe upper end of the ballactuated tripping lever 24L which isconstructed and arranged to be actuated by any ball which passes throughsaid port, and is provided on its top with a forwardly and downwardlyslanting passage way formed by a groove 29 to guide the ball on itsdownward course and deliver it to a winning way 30, which leads througha winning port (Z onto the apron 5 for the purpose of returning thewinning ball to the player. In Fig. 2, 18 indicates a winning ball. Therunway 28 constitutes means to direct the ball from the target to theslanting passage Way 29.

31 is a target spot located on the top plate 2 above the passage-way cto form a mark at which the balls are to be rolled by the player.

Guards are arranged at different places to direct. the ball as required.

33 designates adjustable guards which may be bendable sheet-metal wingsprojecting forwardly from the back all above the side margins of thetarget port 0, thus preventing a truly aimed ball from boundinglaterally, and missing the target port after striking truly on the stopformed by the back wall 32.

3 t designates a bridge extending forwardly from the front margin of thetarget port and terminating below the rim of the upper plate lso that aball entering between the guards 33 and bounding forwardly from the backwall 32 will be returned to the target-port.

designates a guard at the end of the runway 28 to direct the ball downonto the upper end. of the tripping-lever This guard is formed byslitting the front all of the runway .to form a tongue forwardly abovethe tripping-lever, and bending said tongue down.

37 is a side guard at the upper end of the lever 2 L to direct the ballinto the way 30.

38 is a deflector at the lower end of the chute section 13 to turn theball down the chute-section 14 without liability of clogging.

The block 19 is provided in its upper surface with a run 40, one end ofwhich is at that end of said block which is next the end of thechute-section 1 t, and the other end of said run is at the front side ofsaid block so that when the block is depressed the run will registerwith and form a continuation of the ball return-way so that a ball mayroll from the section l t onto the end of the block, and thence off atthe side of the block to the paying-way 27 and onto the apron 5. Thelength of the run 1-0 is preferably equal to or greater than twice thediameter of one of the playing balls 18 so that while a ball is rollingthereover a following ball may roll thereonto to depress the block whileanother ball rolls thereon, and so on until all the balls are dischargedfrom the chute.

In practice, one or more players may use the apparatus in a game. .Vhena ball. is rolled up the apron 5 and plate 4t it may pass to either sideof the target-port 0 and thus fall upon the backing 11 down which itwill roll until caught by one of the chutesections 12 or 13, and then itwill pass on downward until retained by the block 19. hen a ball entersthe target-port c it will roll down the chute 2S and onto the long upperarm of the tripping-lever 24, Which immediately tilts under weight ofthe ball, thus operating through the connection 26 to tilt thepaying-lever so as to remove the block 19 from the outlet 17, andthereupon all the missed balls that have accumulated above the blockwill be released and will roll down the apron, and together with thewinning ball will return to the player. here two or more players areengaged in the game, the player whose ball releases the paying-lever,will be entitled to hold the winning ball and whatever ball. or ballsmay be released by the paying lever. The interest of the solitary playeris increased by the pay to him of the balls avhich are released whenevera winning ball is thrown, as above related. The interest is alsoheightened by his ability to see the balls as they roll down the chuteand accumulate above the block, and also by the operation of releasingthe paying balls when a winning ball is passed through the targetport 0onto the lever 24.

By bending the guards 33 toward each other, the entrance to thetargetport may be narrowed to increase the difficulty of the game, andby spreading them apart the difficulty of shooting a ball into thetargetport may be decreased for the benefit of less skilful players.

The connection between the tripping and the paying lever is preferably aflexible cord 26 so that the tripping lever may tilt to deliveringposition while the paying lever is in paying position. The mechanismcomprising the two levers and the connection is thus made flexible andadapted to deliver both the losing balls and the winning ballsimultaneously.

\Vhen the device is to be put away the balls 18 may be housed in thechute and covered by turning the apron up.

The weight 22 serves through the connections between the paying-leverand the tripping-lever, to hold the tripping-lever as well as thepaying-lever in normal position in which the paying-lever blocks thepayingoutlet and the tripping-lever is ready to receive and be tilted bya winning ball. The weight for holding the levers in normal positionshould be such that a single ball will tilt them both from normal topaying positions.

In case the alley-plate 4 is made of wirenetting it may have a marginalwire frame 43 bent at the lower corners as at 4:4, 4:5, to form thepaying and winning ports 6 and d.

46 designates a signal lever provided with a suitable signal as a flag4:7, and pivoted at 4:8 to the top plate 2 and connected by a cord 49with the upper end of the tripping lever 24, so that when the upper endof the tripping lever is moved downward the signal will be thrown up asshown in Fig. 2, thus giving notice of the result of the shot an instantbefore the payment of the missed balls begins. The fiagmay be placeddirectly in line with the target port, thus making the same a moreprominent mark.

The apron 5 may be made of a sheet of metal or other material hinged bya wire 50 set in the side walls 9, 9, so as to swing down for theplayers use or up to form a cover for storage. The alley plate frame 43-may be formed of a stiff wire bent to fit inside the walls 9, 9 and torest on the tops of the cleats that form the chute sections 12, 13 and14:. The wire mesh of the plate t may be fastened to the frame 43 bybending or by any appropriate means.

The upper incline 10 of the inclined backing is designed to afford asurface to extend aslant at a less angle with the horizon than does thealley plate 4L so that a ball striking the part 10 will not rebound overthe edge of such plate 4 but will roll down to the portion of thebacking that is behind the plate. The surface of the main body of thebacking is parallel with the alley plate 4E. The backing may be made ofa single board beveled at the top to form the slanting surface 10.

By providing a visible course for the losing balls and an invisiblecourse for the winning ball and making provision whereby the concealedwinning ball will release the visible entrapped losing balls, theinterest of the players in the game is increased.

The slant of the apron 5 is such that balls rolling down the same willbe given sufficient impetus to return them over a level surface, as thesurface of a floor, to the player who may be stationed at a considerabledistance therefrom, say twelve or fifteen feet, more or less.

When it is desired to store the game apparatus, the balls may be droppedinto the open space a at the sides of the target port 0, and will rolldown upon and be accommodated by the chute section 13, 14, and thereuponthe apron 5 may be turned up over the plate 4 and the game is thusclosed and the balls secured against loss.

The deflector 88 is arranged to narrow the space around the end of theinclined intermediate chute-section 13 so as to allow one ball at a timeto pass the same, thus to illsure against the balls wedging at the turn.The deflector may be of any suitable material. In the form shown it is apiece of sheet metal bent into a curve and fastened to the wall of thecase.

I claim 1. A ball target having a passage way for balls, a ball stopadjacent to the target; a ball return way in front of the stop,retaining means at the end of such way, a ball actuated releasing devicefor the retaining means, and a ball runway leading from the targetpassage way to the releasing device.

2. A target provided With a passage way for balls, at stop lor balls, areturn way for balls that miss the pas ige way, a block itor retainingthe balls in said return way and ball-actuated means to operate theblock to release the balls trout the return way.

3. It game apparatus comprising a slant ing plate, an inclined backing,a target atthe upper end oi? the latching and above the level of theupper edge of the plate, said arget being provided with a passage wayforming the bulls eye, a ball return "way on the hacking below theplate, an apron to direct the ball onto the plate, means to direct ballstrom the target in one cour e, and means to direct a hall trom the pas.'e way in another coarse.

st. 1-, game apparatus ctnnprising a trans' parent slanting plate, aninclined backing, a target above the level out the upper edge oi? theplate and provided with a target port, a ball return way on the backingbelow the plate, an apron to direct the ball onto the plate, means todirect balls from the target to the ball return way, and means to directa ball from the target port in another com e.

5. A. game apparatus comprising a transparent z-tlanting plate, a targetrearvsardly ot the plate and above the level of the upper edge thereof,an inclined backing below the target and plate and behind the plate, a.

return way on the backing below the hall plate, an apron to direct theball onto the plate, means to direct the halls to the return viavbehii'id the transpartmt plate, a for-- wardly and downwardly slantingpassage way, and means to direct a ball from the target to the slantingpassage way.

(3. A. ball game device coniprising a slanting plate, an inclined plateli'orining a baching behind the plate and extending above the level ofthe top of the plate to receive balls shot over the top of the plate,there being an outlet between the slanting plate and the backing, a ballreturn ay leading to said outlet, a blocl; tor the outlet, a targetprovided with passage tray to receive a hall, a hall to pass through thepassage way, a lever capable of being actuated by said ball, and meansbetween and operably con necting said lever and the outlet block wherebythe operation of the lever causes the withdrawal of the block from theoutlet.

7. ln a ball game apparatus provided with a target, the combination ot alever, a block operatable by said lever, a ball-way in front of thetarget leading to said block, a second lever, a connection between saidlevers, a ball, and means to deliver the ball from the tar et onto saidsecond lever to operate the hrst lever for the purpose of withdrawingthe block from its ball way.

5. In a ball game apparatus provided with a target, the combination of aball-way, a lever operatable as a signal, another lever operatable toblock and unblock the ball way, a, third lever connected with the firsttwo levers, means to deliver halls from the target to the ball-way wherethey may he blocked by the second lever, a hall, and means to deliversaid hall onto the third lever tor the purpose of operating the signaland unlocking the ball-way.

9. In a ball game apparatus provided with a target, the combination witha slanting backing, of bars arranged aslant to form a staggered way onsaid backing, a block to stop halls on one of said bars, a ball, andmeans operat-able by said ball to remove said block from its blockingposition.

10. In a ball game apparatus, the combination with a ball return way, ofa movable outlet block arranged to normally obstruct the way andprovided with a run, one end of which is at that end of said block whichnext to the ball return way, and the other end of which run is at oneside oi said block, and means to lower the outlet block to bring the runinto line with the ball return way to "form a continuation of said way,substantially as and tor the purpose set forth.

ln testimony whereof, I have lrercunto set my hand at Los Angcles,California, this 10th day of October, 1908.

WILLIAM LAMMERSEN. ln presence of- JAMES R. TOWNSEND, M. BEULAHTowNsEND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

